Rip strip key and attaching means for containers



Oct. 30, 1934. w PUNTE 1,979,172

RIP STRIP KEY AND ATTACHING MEANS FOR CONTAINERS Filed March 18, 1955Patented Oct. 30, 1934 RIP STRIP KEY AND ATTACHIN G MEANS FOR CONTAINERSWilliam F. Punte, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Continental Can Company,Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 18,

2 Claims.

The invention has to do with new and useful improvements in an implementfor opening a container, such as a key for removing the tearing "stripthereof, and more particularly to the 'means for attaching the implementto the container so that it may be secured thereto and marketedtherewith andeasily removed from the container for opening the same.

Anobject of the invention is to provide an attaching means for animplement of the above type which is shaped so as to have a firm butyielding gripon a portion of the container, permitting theimplement'to-be sprung into engagement with the container and to beforcibly released therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide an'attaching means foran implement for opening a' container which permits the implement toyieldingly grip the container at opposite sides of and beneath thedoubleseam securing the container end to the container body.

'A still further object of the invention is to provide'a key openingimplement with an attaching means of the above type wherein the springof 5 the metal in the shank portion of the key maintains the yieldingcontact between the key and the members of the container grippedthereby.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a plan view of "a container showing a keyprovided with the improved attaching means, with the key positioned tobe sprung into engagement with the container;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, but showing the key as sprung into attachmentwith the container;

Fig. 3 isa side View of the container'with the key parts as positionedin Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the key as attached tothe container;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig.4;

Fig.6 is-a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. '7 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 5, but showing the key asattached to the straight wall of a square container.

lhe invention as illustrated in the drawing is embodied in a key forremoving a tearing strip. It will be understood, however, that othertypes of' opening implements may be used and attached to the containerby the novel attaching means 1933, Serial No. 661,596

embodying applicants invention. The key is preferably formed from aresilient wire which is bent upon itself to produce a shank portionhaving the members thereof spaced to form a slot adapted to receive thetongue of the tearing strip, so that the tearing strip maybe wound on tothe shank of the key and the metal ruptured thereby. The shank portionsmidway thereof are bent laterally away from each other, and thence outof the plane of the shank, so as to provide two spaced gripping pointswhich are adapted to engage one member of the container. As shown, thesegripping points engage the gripping wall forming the depression in thecontainer end, or what might be termed the inner side of the doubleseam. These members having the gripping points extend out over thedouble seam, and are thence bent downwardly and toward each other sothat they substantially meet at a line centrally of the shank when thekey is completed and before it is attached to the container. It is theends of these members projecting toward each other that provide thegripping points for contacting with the container wall outside of andbeneath the double seam. This provides a key attaching means whereinthere are spaced gripping points adapted to engage one member of thecontainer, and that is, the inner wall of the double seam, while thereare spaced points located intermediate these first-named gripping pointswhich contact with the other member of the container, that is, the outerwall hereof just beneath the double seam. The gripping points contactingwith the inner member lie in a plane which is spaced from the planecontaining the intermediate gripping points a less distance than similarplanes containing the points of contact on the container made by thesegripping points of the key. In order, therefore, to bring these contactpoints into engagement with the container, it is necessary to spring theshank of the key. The resilience, therefore, of the members forming thekey will continuously cause these gripping points to firmly grip thecontainer.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, a container is shown whichincludes a body portion 1 and an end portion 2 which is secured theretoby a double seam 3 which is of theusual type. The container end 2 has acentral depression forming a vertical wall 4 which may be said to be theinner wall of the double seam. The body wall is provided with scorelines 5, 5 setting off the tearing stripfi having a tongue 7. Thistearing strip is of the usual construction and further descriptionthereof is not thought necessary. The implement for opening this type ofcontainer has been term-ed a key, and as shown in the drawing, thisopening key consists of a resilient wire bent upon itself to form shankmembers 8 and 9 which are spaced from each other so as to provide a slot10. This slot is slipped over the tongue '7 and then the tongue isrolled on to the shank, and the tearing strip thus ruptured. The shank 9is bent laterally as indicated at 11, while the shank 8 is bentlaterally as indicated at 12. The outer end of the shank portion 11 isbent upwardly forming a gripping point 13 which is adapted to engage thevertical wall 4 of the container, that is, the inside of the doubleseam. The shank 12 is provided with a similar upwardly bent portionhaving a gripping point 14. These gripping points 13 and 14 are spacedfrom each other, and are the two gripping points which engage the innermember of the container when the key is attached thereto.

The upstanding member carrying thegripping point 13 is extended over thedouble seam as indicated at 15, and is thence bent downwardly asindicated at 19, and inwardly toward the center of the shank asindicated at 20. These portions 11, 12, 13, 18, 17 and 20 form ahandlevportion for the key when it is detached to aid in turning the key forwinding the tearing strip thereon. As clearlyshown in Fig. 1, the endsof the members 17 and 20 are normally close together, and they may beseparated by the springing of one shank member 8 away from the othershank member 9. The-member 17 is adapted to grip the container at thepoint 17 while the member 20 grips the container at the point 2O (seeFig. 2). The vertical plane containing the gripping points 13 and 14 isspaced such a distance from the vertical plane containing the points 17and 20 before the key is attached, that the arc of a circle passingthrough all of these points is less than the arc of the circle formingthe double seam. In order, therefore, to bring the key into grippingengagement with the double seam, the shank members 8 and 9 of the keymust be separated so as to separate the points 13 and 14. In order toaccomplish this, the key is preferably placed on the container with oneof the shank members contacting with the double seam. As shown inFigures 1 and 3, the member 18 is in contact with the double seam; thegripping point 14 engaging the inner wall thereof, and the grippingpoint 20 contacting with the lower portion of the double seam. Theoperator then places a finger on the portion 15 of the shank member 9and forces it away from the shank member 8 so as to spring the contactmember 13 downwardly inside of the double seam. This brings the key tothe position shown in Figures 2 and 4 to 6, inclusive. This springing ofthe key on to the container separates the shank members, as noted, andthe tendency of the shank members to spring back into the normalposition shown, in Fig. 1, causes a firm gripping of the points ofcontact of the key with the container. The points of contact with thecontainer are at 13 and 14 on the inside of the double seam, and 1'7 and20 on the outside of the'double seam. There is also a certain spring inthe member 17 and in the member 20, and likewise in the members 15 and18, all of which are put under strain when the key is placed on thecontainer, and thus it is that the resiliency of the entire key is madeavailable to bring about a firm gripping contact between the key and thecontainer. The members 17 and 20, when the key is attached to thecontainer, lie beneath the double seam, and this aids in a very firmengagement of the key with the container. In order to remove the key,the operator pushing laterally and upwardly on the shank members 8 and9, may forcibly release the contact point 13 or 14 from the container.The key may be readily sprung on by hand after the container is closed,or by machinery, and will be firmly retained on the container and ismarketed therewith. The shank of the key lies housed within the recessin the container end, and the only portions extending above the doubleseam of the container are the parts 15 and 18.

In Fig. '7 of the drawing, the key is shown as applied to a containerhaving a straight side wall, wherein the straight double seam isindicated at 21. The key attaching means is of the same construction asthat described above, with the members l7 and 20 placed initially sothat they incline inwardly toward the shank of the key, and it is thespring of these members that grips the container beneath the double seamfor holding the key firmly attached thereto.

It will be noted that the gripping points in applicants key attachingmeans which contact with 105 one of the gripping members, that is, theinner wall of the container, are spaced from each other, while thegripping points contacting with the other member of the container aredisposed intermediate the same. In other words, the gripping 110 pointsare not opposed to each other radially of the container, and this givesa much greater stretch of metal between the gripping points and a betterresilient gripping engagement of the contact points with the container.

While there has been described in detail a shaping of the key for theattaching of the same to spaced-members on the container which are atthe inner and outer sides of the double seam, it will be understood thatthe key may be attached to spaced 120 members otherwise disposed on thecontainer end. The essential feature of the invention is the placing ofthe gripping points relative to the members with which they contact soas to get this firm gripping engagement which may be secured when theopposed gripping points are, as described, out of radial alinement.

While the invention has been described in detail as applied to a keyadapted to be attached to a tearing strip, it is equally applicable toany type of container opening device which is marketed with thecontainer, and detached therefrom for opening the container.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: a

1. The combination of a container having a tearing strip, a key adaptedto engage said tearing strip, said key being of spring wire bent uponitself to form a shank and a handle portion-said handle portion beingconstructed so as to provide spaced members extending at right angles tothe plane of the shank for contacting with a wall on the container, andmembers projecting toward each other from said spaced members, saidlastnamed members beingseparated for independent yielding contact with awall of the container at their adjacent ends.

'2. The combination of a container having a tearing strip, a key adaptedto engage said tearing 150 ried thereby and projecting toward eachother, said last-named members being separated for independent yieldingcontact With the outer wall of the container at points beneath thedouble seam and at points intermediate the inner contacting points ofthe handle with the double seam.

WILLIAM F. PUNTE.

